Page 40 of Meteor Storm

Thilar

Three rotations had passed and Penny was not yet back in her quarters. Her cell sat empty, the environment silent and unlit. I stood against the wall where I had the best vantage point and stared, my thoughts like a storm compared to the stillness of my body.

“Maybe she died,” Sunhai said.

My eyes flicked subtly in her direction to see regret quietly weighing on her face. I could tell she thought of Penny as something of a pet, just like Pek-Tol did. The difference was that Pek-Tol was only interested in the credits.

“She is alive,” I said.

“How do you know?”

I wasn’t exactly sure how I knew, but I was certain she was alive.

“Pek-Tol would not let something so lucrative go so easily.”

Sunhai groaned and slumped down on her cot, crossing her arms. “I had hoped that the khof karr would work faster than this.”

“Relax. If Penny is unwell, there will be no games.”

“I could use the exercise,” she said under her breath.

Patience, I chanted in my head. Patience was rewarded. Rashness was a gamble. I counted every second. Every breath. One, two, three… four-thousand, four-thousand and one…

Then, like a sign from our ancient gods, my khof karr buzzed lightly against my palm. My eyes dropped from Penny’s empty cell for the first time and I opened my fist, glancing at the tiny device. A dim, green light skimmed the border of the diamond once. Then twice.

My eyes lifted again when I noticed a subtle flicker of lights down the corridor. The khof karr buzzed again in response, low and hungry. By then, I knew. I just knew. Another pulse slid along the hall, sharper this time, enough to draw Sunhai’s attention.

I moved without thinking, sliding the khof karr beneath my wrist. Four prongs snapped outward, precise and quick, finding the old scars where they once sat.

Finally.

They locked on with a sting and the pain bloomed into something exhilarating.

The device settled against my skin, and suddenly I was more. Awareness surged through me in wave of violent clarity, like I’d just clawed my way back to life. My vision sharpened to a razor’s edge. Every sound separated and deepened. Even the air changed, becoming layered with scents I hadn’t known were there. Something was coming. And now, I was ready for it.

The lights pulsed once more, brightening a degree before they shut off completely and everything went silent. A low, electrical hum I’d almost forgotten was there suddenly disappeared as the port powered down.

“Thilar?” Sunhai said, eyes narrowed.

My vision widened, taking in any miniscule traces of light as my pupils enlarged and separated every significant shape with a dim but discernable outline. I raised my hand toward my collar, forcing my fingers under the metal.

“What are you doing?” she whispered sharply.

With a low growl, I tugged the metal away from my neck, snapping the device in two. The warped pieces fell to the floor with a clank. Textured webs of fitted armor erupted from my khof kaar, conforming to every part of me like muscle and sinew, metallic red in color and layered with protective fibers.

“Power is down,” I said. “There’s no signal to activate our collars.”

Mekah was under threat. The systems had been hacked and I could feel in my bones that I was no longer alone on that forsaken rock.

Sunhai flashed a quick smile and reached for her collar, digging her fingers beneath the metal band. After several futile attempts to pry it loose, she muttered a string of colorful profanities.

As the armor spread across my body, encasing me from head to toe in a fusion of biotech and augmented organic material, fury churned inside my chest. Rage and hatred mixed like volatile chemicals, threatening to ignite.

I could tear this entire place apart.

But that would be reckless.

I needed to focus.